Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the ( ), on 9 November 1989, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the falling of the and the start of the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. The took place shortly afterwards. An end to the was declared at the three weeks later, and the took place during the following year. Background Following the April 1989 , by early November refugees were finding their way to via Czechoslovakia or via the . The emigration was initially tolerated because of long-standing agreements with the communist Czechoslovak government, allowing free travel across their common border. However this movement of people grew so large it caused difficulties for both countries. In addition, East Germany was struggling to meet loan payments on foreign borrowings; sent to unsuccessfully ask West Germany for a short-term loan to make interest payments. On 18 October 1989, longtime (SED) leader stepped down in favor of Krenz. Honecker had been seriously ill, and those looking to replace him were initially willing to wait for a "biological solution", but by October were convinced that the political and economic situation was too grave. Honecker approved the choice, naming Krenz in his resignation speech, and the duly elected him. Although Krenz promised reforms in his first public speech, he was considered by the East German public to be following his predecessor's policies, and public protests demanding his resignation continued. Despite promises of reform, public opposition to the regime continued to grow. On 1 November, Krenz authorized the reopening of the border with , which had been sealed to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. On 4 November the took place. On 6 November, the Interior Ministry published a draft of new travel regulations, which made cosmetic changes to Honecker-era rules, leaving the approval process opaque and maintaining uncertainty regarding access to foreign currency. The draft enraged ordinary citizens, and was denounced as "complete trash" by . Hundreds of refugees crowded onto the steps of the West German embassy in Prague, enraging the Czechoslovaks, who threatened to seal off the East German-Czechoslovak border. On 7 November, Krenz approved the resignation of Prime Minister and two-thirds of the Politburo; however Krenz was unanimously re-elected as General Secretary by the Central Committee. Drafting of the new regulations On 19 October, Krenz asked to prepare a new travel policy. At a Politburo meeting on 7 November, it was decided to enact a portion of the draft travel regulations addressing permanent emigration immediately. Initially, the Politburo planned to create a special border crossing near specifically for this emigration. The Interior and bureaucrats charged with crafting the new text, however, concluded this was not feasible, and crafted a new text relating to both emigration and temporary travel. It stipulated that East German citizens could apply for permission to travel abroad without having to meet the previous requirements for those trips. To ease the difficulties, the Politburo led by Krenz decided on 9 November to allow refugees to exit directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany, including between East and West Berlin. Later the same day, the ministerial administration modified the proposal to include private, round-trip, travel. The new regulations were to take effect the next day. VVS b2-937/89 Press conference The announcement of the regulations which brought down the wall took place at an hour-long press conference led by , the party boss in East Berlin and the spokesman for the SED Politburo, beginning at 18:00 CET on 9 November and broadcast live on and . Schabowski had not been involved in the discussions about the new regulations and had not been fully updated. Shortly before the press conference, he was handed a note from Krenz announcing the changes, but given no further instructions on how to handle the information. The text stipulated that East German citizens could apply for permission to travel abroad without having to meet the previous requirements for those trips, and also allowed for permanent emigration between all border crossings—including those between East and West Berlin. At 18:53, near the end of the press conference, 's asked if the draft travel law of 6 November was a mistake. Schabowski gave a confusing answer that asserted it was necessary because West Germany had exhausted its capacity to accept fleeing East Germans, then remembered the note he had been given and added that a new law had been drafted to allow permanent emigration at any border crossing. This caused a stir in the room; amid several questions at once, Schabowski expressed surprise that the reporters had not yet seen this law, and started reading from the note. After this, a reporter, either Ehrman or reporter Peter Brinkmann, both of whom were sitting in the front row at the press conference, asked when the regulations would take effect. After a few seconds' hesitation, Schabowski replied, "As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay" ( ) This was an apparent assumption based on the note's opening paragraph – as attempted to interject that it was up to the to decide when it took effect, Schabowski proceeded to read this clause, which stated it was in effect until a law on the matter was passed by the Volkskammer. Crucially, a journalist then asked if the regulation also applied to the crossings to . Schabowski shrugged and read item 3 of the note, which confirmed that it did. After this exchange, of asked what this law meant for the Berlin Wall; Schabowski sat frozen before giving a rambling statement about the Wall being tied to the larger disarmament question. He then ended the press conference promptly at 19:00 as journalists hurried from the room. After the press conference, Schabowski sat for an interview with reporter in which he repeated that East Germans would be able to emigrate through the border and the regulations would go into effect immediately. The news began spreading immediately: the West German issued a bulletin at 19:04 which reported that East German citizens would be able to cross the inner German border "immediately". Excerpts from Schabowski's press conference were broadcast on West Germany's two main news programs that night—at 19:17 on 's , which came on the air as the press conference was ending, and as the lead story at 20:00 on 's . As ARD and ZDF had broadcast to since the late 1950s, were far more widely viewed than the East German channels, and had become accepted by the East German authorities, this is how most of the population heard the news. Later that night, on ARD's , anchorman proclaimed, "This 9 November is a historic day. The GDR has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone. The gates in the Wall stand open wide." In 2009, Ehrman claimed that a member of the Central Committee had called him and urged him to ask about the travel law during the press conference, but Schabowski called that absurd. Ehrman later recanted this statement in a 2014 interview with an Austrian journalist, admitting that the caller was , head of the East German news agency , and he only asked if Ehrman would attend the press conference. Immediate response After hearing the broadcast, East Germans began gathering at the Wall, at the , demanding that s immediately open the gates. The surprised and overwhelmed guards made many hectic telephone calls to their superiors about the problem. At first, they were ordered to find the "more aggressive" people gathered at the gates and stamp their passports with a special stamp that barred them from returning to East Germany—in effect, revoking their citizenship. However, this still left thousands of people demanding to be let through "as Schabowski said we can". It soon became clear that no one among the East German authorities would take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so the vastly outnumbered soldiers had no way to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. in a 2009 Washington Post story characterized the series of events leading to the fall of the wall as an accident, saying "One of the most momentous events of the past century was, in fact, an accident, a semicomical and bureaucratic mistake that owes as much to the Western media as to the tides of history." Finally, at 10:45 p.m. (alternatively given as 11:30 p.m.) on 9 November, , the commander of the yielded, allowing for the guards to open the checkpoints and allowing people through with little or no identity checking. As the swarmed through, they were greeted by s waiting with flowers and champagne amid wild rejoicing. Soon afterward, a crowd of West Berliners jumped on top of the Wall and were soon joined by East German youngsters. The evening of 9 November 1989 is known as the night the Wall came down. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1110-018, Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie, Nacht des Mauerfalls.jpg|Walking through , 10 November 1989 File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|At the , 10 November 1989 File:Juggling on the Berlin Wall 1a.jpg|Juggling on the Wall on 16 November 1989 File:Mauerspecht 1989.jpg|''"Mauerspecht"'' (November 1989) File:Berlin 1989, Fall der Mauer, Chute du mur 18.jpg|The Fall of the Wall (November 1989) File:Grenzöffnung November 1989 - Selmsdorf (DDR) - Lübeck-Schlutup.webm|Celebration at the border crossing in the Schlutup district of Another border crossing to the south may have been opened earlier. An account by indicates that he also acted independently and ordered the opening of the gate at Waltersdorf-Rudow a couple of hours earlier. This may explain reports of East Berliners appearing in West Berlin earlier than the opening of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing. Speaking to many locals from the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, many could not believe that it was happening. Some people waited a few days before traveling to the check point and crossing sides. Some people went as soon as they heard the news just to see if it was really true. However, people all over celebrated the victory that came from the fall of the Berlin Wall. This represented unity and proved that hostility was a thing of the past. Aftermath Demolition Removal of the Wall began on the evening of 9 November 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks, with people nicknamed (wall woodpeckers) using various tools to chip off souvenirs, demolishing lengthy parts in the process, and creating several unofficial border crossings. Television coverage of citizens demolishing sections of the Wall on 9 November was soon followed by the East German regime announcing ten new , including the historically significant locations of , , and . Crowds gathered on both sides of the historic crossings waiting for hours to cheer the bulldozers that tore down portions of the Wall to reconnect the divided roads. While the Wall officially remained guarded at a decreasing intensity, new border crossings continued for some time. Initially the attempted repairing damage done by the "Wall peckers"; gradually these attempts ceased, and guards became more lax, tolerating the increasing demolitions and "unauthorized" border crossing through the holes. The Brandenburg Gate in the Berlin Wall was opened on 22 December 1989; on that date, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl walked through the gate and was greeted by East German Prime Minister . West Germans and West Berliners were allowed visa-free travel starting 23 December. Until then, they could only visit East Germany and East Berlin under restrictive conditions that involved application for a visa several days or weeks in advance and obligatory exchange of at least 25 per day of their planned stay, all of which hindered spontaneous visits. Thus, in the weeks between 9 November and 23 December, East Germans could actually travel more freely than Westerners. On 13 June 1990, the East German Border Troops officially began dismantling the Wall, beginning in and around the Mitte district. From there, demolition continued through Prenzlauer Berg/Gesundbrunnen, Heiligensee and throughout the city of Berlin until December 1990. According to estimates by the border troops, a total of around 1.7 million tonnes of building rubble was produced by the demolition. Unofficially, the demolition of the began because of construction work on the railway. This involved a total of 300 GDR border guards and—after 3 October 1990—600 Pioneers of the Bundeswehr. These were equipped with 175 trucks, 65 cranes, 55 excavators and 13 bulldozers. Virtually every road that was severed by the Berlin Wall, every road that once linked from West Berlin to East Berlin, was reconstructed and reopened by 1 August 1990. In Berlin alone, of wall, border fence, signal systems and barrier ditches were removed. What remained were six sections that were to be preserved as a memorial. Various military units dismantled the Berlin/Brandenburg border wall, completing the job in November 1991. Painted wall segments with artistically valuable motifs were put up for auction in 1990 in and . On 1 July 1990, the day East Germany adopted the West German currency, all de jure border controls ceased, although the inter-German border had become meaningless for some time before that. The demolition of the Wall was completed in 1992. The fall of the Wall marked the first critical step towards , which formally concluded a mere 339 days later on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of East Germany and the official reunification of the German state along the democratic lines of the West German . File:berlin fallofwall emerson.jpg|An East German guard talks to a Westerner through a broken seam in the wall in late November 1989. File:Crane removed part of Wall Brandenburg Gate.jpg|A crane removes a section of the Wall near on 21 December 1989. File:Berlin wall 1990.jpg|Almost all of the remaining sections were rapidly chipped away. December 1990. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0105-029, Berlin, Loch in Mauer am Reichstag.jpg|West Germans peer at East German border guards through a hole in the wall on 5 January 1990. File:Berlin wall at Potsdamer Platz March 2009.jpg|Short section of the Berlin Wall at , March 2009 File:BERLINER WALL 1.JPG|Souvenir chunk of concrete from the Wall Opposition In some European capitals at the time, there was a deep anxiety over prospects for a reunified Germany. In September 1989, British Prime Minister pleaded with not to let Germany reunite and confided that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, warned Thatcher that a unified Germany could make more ground than ever had and that Europe would have to bear the consequences. Celebrations On 21 November 1989, performed the song "Chippin' Away" from 's 1986 solo album in front of the Brandenburg Gate. On 25 December 1989, gave a concert in Berlin celebrating the end of the Wall, including ( ) with the word "Joy" ( ) changed to "Freedom" ( ) in the lyrics sung. The poet may have originally written "Freedom" and changed it to "Joy" out of fear. The orchestra and choir were drawn from both East and West Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. On New Year's Eve 1989, performed his song " " while standing atop the partly demolished wall. the album just north of on 21 July 1990, with guests including , , , , , , , , , and . Over the years, there has been a repeated controversial debate as to whether would make a suitable German national holiday, often initiated by former members of political opposition in East Germany, such as . Besides being the emotional apogee of East Germany's peaceful revolution, 9 November is also the date of the 1918 abdication of Kaiser and declaration of the , the first German republic. However, 9 November is also the anniversary of the execution of following the , the 1923 and the infamous s of the Nazis in 1938. Laureate criticised the first euphoria, noting that "they forgot that 9 November has already entered into history—51 years earlier it marked the Kristallnacht." As reunification was not official and complete until 3 October (1990), that day was finally chosen as . 20th anniversary celebrations On 9 November 2009, Berlin celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall with a "Festival of Freedom" with dignitaries from around the world in attendance for an evening celebration around the Brandenburg Gate. A high point was when over 1,000 colourfully designed foam domino tiles, each over tall, that were stacked along the former route of the Wall in the city center were toppled in stages, converging in front of the Brandenburg Gate. A Berlin Twitter Wall was set up to allow Twitter users to post messages commemorating the 20th anniversary. The Chinese government quickly shut down access to the Twitter Wall after masses of Chinese users began using it to protest the . In the United States, the German Embassy coordinated a public diplomacy campaign with the motto "Freedom Without Walls", to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The campaign was focused on promoting awareness of the fall of the Berlin Wall among current college students. Students at over 30 universities participated in "Freedom Without Walls" events in late 2009. First place winner of the Robert Cannon received a free trip to Berlin for 2010. An international project called Mauerreise (Journey of the Wall) took place in various countries. Twenty symbolic Wall bricks were sent from Berlin starting in May 2009, with the destinations being Korea, Cyprus, Yemen, and other places where everyday life is characterised by division and border experience. In these places, the bricks would become a blank canvas for artists, intellectuals and young people to tackle the "wall" phenomenon. To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the 3D online virtual world reconstructed a true-to-scale section of the Wall in virtual Berlin. The , on 5 November, had and perform songs dedicated to, and about the Berlin Wall. U2 performed at the Brandenburg Gate, and Tokio Hotel performed " ". in the town of , pulled down parts of the , in a demonstration marking the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The in Washington D.C., hosted a car rally where 20 Trabants gathered in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rides were raffled every half-hour and a Trabant crashed through a Berlin Wall mock up. The Trabant was the East German people's car that many used to leave DDR after the collapse. The in the district of Berlin hosted a number of events to mark the Twentieth Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The museum held a Special Exhibition entitled "Wall Patrol – The Western Powers and the Berlin Wall 1961–1990" which focused on the daily patrols deployed by the Western powers to observe the situation along the Berlin Wall and the fortifications on the . A sheet of "Americans in Berlin" Commemorative s designed by , the author of the novel , was presented to the Museum by David Guerra, Berlin veteran and webmaster of the site . The stamps splendidly illustrate that even twenty years on, veterans of service in Berlin still regard their service there as one of the high points of their lives. 30th anniversary celebrations Berlin planned a weeklong arts festival from 4 to 10 November 2019 and a citywide music festival on 9 November to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary. On 4 November, outdoor exhibits opened at Alexanderplatz, the Brandenburg Gate, the East Side Gallery, Gethsemane Church, Kurfürstendamm, Schlossplatz, and the former Stasi headquarters in Lichtenberg. deliberately chose this date of November 9, 2019 to announce the long-awaited opening of The , allowing Sikh devotees from India a visa-free border crossing to visit a site especially holy to their religion in Pakistani territory. In the 9th November 2019, commemorated the 30th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by tearing a fake Berlin Wall in their match against . References Category:Contemporary history